Tony DeSouza vs. Luis Azeredo
The first round began and they touched gloves there. A lot of movement from Azeredo right off the bat. DeSouza checked an inside kick. Azeredo stuffed a single. DeSouza stuffed a throw and had the back with both hooks and an arm trapped. Beautiful. He was trying a twister here. Azeredo was defending well. DeSouza worked towards the choke. Azeredo hit a brilliant switch and rolled on top towards the side control position. He basically made it with an arm trapped. He stood out and over DeSouza. He kicked the leg and twice more. Azeredo bounced around. The ref stood DeSouza up amidst boos. They touched gloves. The crowd chanted something. They quieted down. DeSouza dodged an inside kick and worked a double. He got it nicely to the butterflies. He's not looking bad. Azeredo worked short shots in under. Open palm strikes, mostly. He was controlling DeSouza's posture as well. Azeredo closed the guard now. DeSouza landed a right hammerfist nicely. Azeredo tried an armbar. DeSouza easily escaped, Azeredo tried to stand, DeSouza had the back with both hooks. He lost one hook. Azeredo rolled to mount instead. DeSouza landed a good right hand and that got a reaction from the crowd of course. The crowd chanted again. They quieted down. They were getting restless but then DeSouza landed another right hand. They chanted again. Nothing was going on in the ring though. Azeredo rolled on top to guard. He landed a good soccer kick in the scramble and kicked the leg three times as he stood over DeSouza. The crowd booed. Theys crambled. DeSouza worked a double. Azeredo countered working for a standing guillotine. Stalemate. Azeredo pulled guard with the sub, DeSouza popped out. The ref moved them to the center. Not much was going on here. The ref stood them up. The crowd chanted. Azeredo landed an inside kick. He missed a spinning back fist and landed a blocked high kick. He tried a flying side kick as the first round ended. 10-9 DeSouza but rather close. The second round began. Azeredo faked another flying knee. DeSouza pressed forward, Azeredo stuffed a single. DeSouza seems to be fading. He dodged a leg kick. Both men seem tired. Azeredo landed a good straight right down the pipe. They circled some more. The crowd chanted. Azeredo easily stuffed a double. He landed a leg kick. They touched gloves, initiated by Azeredo. Azeredo worked a single, DeSouza countered working a standing guillotine. Azeredo got the single to half-guard and landed a left elbow to the face, a pair to the shoulder and another to the body. He defended an armbar, DeSouza rolled for a leg, Azeredo stood out and kicked the leg three times and again. The crowd booed. Azeredo came back down to guard. DeSouza was rolled up like a pretzel here. Azeredo stood out. He kicked the leg twice there. He stacked DeSouza. DeSouza turned on top with a nice single. The second round ended. 10-9 Azeredo. The third round began. They circled. DeSouza landed a right hand and got a nice single-leg to half-guard. The crowd roared. The ref moved them to the center. The crowd was still chanting. Azeredo regained guard. "Let's go, Tony!" "Right hook, let's go!" Azeredo worked for a triangle. DeSouza defended well. He landed a good right hand. DeSouza's fighting for a decision. DeSouza defended a close triangle attempt there. He was stacking Azeredo and passing well. They rolled. DeSouza almost had a reverse triangle. He had it! Azeredo is turtled up in a reverse triangle. DeSouza was trying to adjust the hold. Azeredo stood slamming DeSouza with his back. DeSouza kept an underhook on the leg. They scrambled as the crowd roared. Azeredo turtled up once more as DeSouza sprawled. Azeredo was trying a single now. DeSouza was defending. He was turning to take the back. They are close to the ropes and the ref is taking a close look. DeSouza had one hook here. Azeredo turned. DeSouza tried a twister. Wow. He was turning towards mount. Something happened and the fight was paused. DeSouza's still sitting on the mat as Azeredo paced in a neutral corner. Okay they continued. DeSouza refused the glove touch. They touched gloves there now and continued standing. Hmm... Azeredo's mouth was open. He pressed forward missing there. Azeredo landed a leg kick, DeSouza shot in reply for a double and got it nicely to guard. The crowd cheered. The crowd chanted. The third round ended. 10-9 DeSouza. 29-28 DeSouza. They gave the split decision to DeSouza.